San Angelo Task Force Recommends Major Overhaul of Animal Services

SAN ANGELO, TX — Members of the San Angelo Animal Services Task Force presented more than a dozen recommendations to City Council during a comprehensive report Tuesday morning, urging immediate action to address what they described as a public safety and animal welfare crisis stemming from years of under-enforcement, staff shortages, and outdated shelter policies.

Created in December 2024 by direction of the City Council, the task force, led by Municipal Court Judge Allen Gilbert, spent over 370 hours reviewing ordinances, state law, shelter conditions, and citizen complaints. Their findings revealed a growing population of stray dogs, a rise in dog bites, and inadequate infrastructure to manage the city’s estimated 30,000 domestic animals.

Judge Gilbert said the task force conducted an in-depth review of city ordinances and state law, examining them "sentence by sentence."

He held up a report documenting 110 pages of loose dog sightings in a single week and estimated that as many as 500 stray dogs could be roaming San Angelo on any given day—adding up to more than 10,000 over a two-year period.

Among the most urgent recommendations were doubling the number of Animal Services Officers from four to eight, placing Animal Services directly under the City Manager’s office, and hiring a qualified, experienced Animal Services Director to lead a long-term overhaul.

Assistant Police Chief Adam Scott reported that the San Angelo Police Department responded to 841 animal-related calls since January, including 407 incidents classified as involving vicious animals and 56 confirmed dog bites. Examples included fatal livestock attacks and instances where citizens had to fight off aggressive dogs.

Assistant Chief Adam Scott reported a continued rise in dog bites and other animal-related incidents, saying the situation is not improving. He recommended doubling the number of Animal Services officers and emphasized the need for more consistent enforcement of spay and neuter requirements.

“Currently, we have four animal service officers. … We would recommend that four be increased to eight, basically doubling that number, putting a force multiplier in the street to readily increase enforcement for not only microchipping, spay and neuter, but also, more importantly, probably, for dangerous and vicious dogs that are on the streets," he said. 

Other proposed changes include:

• Adding a clear definition of “dangerous dog” to city ordinances.

• Reinstating physical registration tags alongside microchipping.

• Requiring veterinary clinics to report or microchip all unchipped animals before release.

• Enforcing penalties for noncompliance with spay/neuter laws.

• Resuming adoptions directly through the shelter under a new coordinator.

• Reopening intakes permanently and expanding shelter partnerships with local rescues.

Dr. Catie Morris, a veterinarian and task force member, emphasized that prevention, particularly spay and neuter programs, would have the most long-term impact on reducing the city’s animal population

“You can’t kill or adopt your way out of overpopulation,” said Dr. Morris. “Prevention is the key.”

She said strict enforcement of existing spay and neuter ordinances, rather than short-term solutions, is essential to addressing the city’s animal overpopulation crisis.

Juliana Evans, a former shelter enrichment officer, shared firsthand observations of neglect, unsanitary conditions, and inhumane treatment. 

“I saw plenty," she said. "The things I saw at our animal shelter include filthy, dirty kennels and crates … an unconscious dog left without treatment for over 24 hours … cockroaches covering the floor.”

City Manager Daniel Valenzuela thanked the task force and said their recommendations would be considered during the upcoming budget workshop to assess costs and set implementation priorities.

“As we go into the budget workshop, we will start talking about the recommendations they made, we can start putting a cost to that … and say, 'Hey, this is definitely a priority.'”

Mayor Brenda Gunter and council members agreed that follow-up meetings would be necessary and encouraged council members to submit further questions for a future session.

“Today was just an overview — a lot of specifics, a lot of asks, a lot of requests, and a lot of dollars,” Gunter said. “This isn’t the end of that conversation.”